Baby Steps
by Foundation of Dreams
Summary: Follow Rose's diary entries as life moves on for her after she was raped last fall. Watch as she deals with stepping back into the spotlight, sorts through issues with her family, and falls in love. Runs parallel to my story "I'd Lie." Read that first! xo
1. Chapter 1

**Baby Steps! Yay! **

**Just a heads up...if you haven't read "I'd Lie" you might be a little lost..**

**Thanks to _in the hallway with jeans _for editting this for me =)**

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Emmett stepped closer still, reached out, and took her hand in his. She was shaking.

_"Is this okay?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper. Rose took a few deep, steadying breaths before nodding. "Do you think I can give you a hug?" Emmett asked, seriously. As much as it hurt her to do it, she shook her head._

_"But this is okay?" he held up their hands. She nodded again. Emmett smiled. "Baby steps are still steps." He said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and grinning down at her._

**~Baby Steps~**

_Saturday, January 12th, 2009_

My New Year's Resolution. Well, This isn't really a resolution...more like a goal. But it counts, right?

I want Emmett to be able to give me a hug. Hopefully, it won't take an entire year, but who knows? Maybe it will.

It's now the beginning of January. Emmett's become my closest friend, next to Alice, of course. But then, she's always been a little bit more like an older sister. So, I guess Emmett really is my closest friend.

But, the question, as I lie awake, staring at my ceiling at three in the morning, is...

How annoyed would he be if I woke him up just to tell him I had a nightmare?

I'd been thinking about this for the past half hour, getting as far as dialing his number a couple of times.

I could've just gone and woken up Alice. Maybe even Jasper, this was true. But...with things like this, I preferred Emmett. Whenever the subject of...what happened last fall came up, Jasper went all protective older brother… in a bad way. Alice would always try way too hard to understand. I loved them both, really...they just weren't what I needed.

_Just do it already._ I told myself, and dialed Emmett's number very quickly, and pressed the little green button on my phone. As soon as I put it up to my ear, I could feel myself start shaking. What was I thinking? It's three in the morning!

The phone rang three times before Emmett answered. "What the hell!? Do you know what time it is?" he asked, sounding very annoyed and half asleep.

"Yes." I said in a small, scared voice, feeling stupid for calling him.

"Rosie?" Emmett asked, suddenly wide awake. I heard him sit up. "Rose?" he asked again, in a slightly worried, more alert voice.

"Yeah, it's me." I said, still in the same timid voice.

"Hi...are you okay? What's the matter?" he asked, his voice softening. "I'm sorry. I thought it was Edward or someone." He attempted to explain himself.

I decided to just get to the point. "I had a bad dream." I said quietly, feeling like a little kid as I said it.

"Oh..." Emmett said softly. "About...?" he trailed off.

"Yeah." I said shortly.

"Want to tell me about it?" he asked. Did I?

"Not really. I just wanted to talk to someone, I think." I answered, still in my quiet voice.

"Okay. I'm here, if you need me." he said, and, thankfully, not sounding annoyed at how stupid I was being. "And, Rosie?"

"Hm?"

"It was only a dream." He said. "I won't let anything happen to you. You don't need to be scared." He said, and I could almost hear him blush through the phone. I smiled, a little sadly.

"You can't promise me that, Emmett. But thanks for being here. Night." I said, and hung up.

**~Rosalie Lillian Hale~**

School. I hated school. I hated how either Bella or Alice would pick me up and drop me off for every class, make sure that no one got too close to me in the halls.

I rolled out of bed as I heard Alice skipping and singing down the halls. I'd known Alice for years and years, and she'd always been way too chipper in the mornings. Sometimes I wondered how Jasper put up with her.

I put on the outfit that I'd picked out the night before, a blue plaid shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows and a sash/belt thingy, and a pair of grey pants. Then, standing in front of the mirror on my dresser, I carefully brushed out my long hair.

I knew I was beautiful. I was a professional model, remember? Well, technically, I still am, just...taking some time off.

Alice pounded on my door, then bounced inside. "Good morning!" she sang. I shot a glare at her. Why was she so loud in the mornings? "I brought you coffee! She said cheerfully, holding out the thermos in her hand. I grabbed it from her, smiling gratefully. How had I ever thought she was annoying?

I felt better about my morning attitude when my darling older brother showed up in my doorway, still half asleep, still wearing a tee shirt and boxers.

"Pants, Jasper! Jeez!" I yelled. Alice glanced behind her and laughed.

Jasper blinked, looked down and muttered, "Pants. Pants are a good thing," in a sleepy voice, then shuffled back out of my room.

"Go help him, please." I told Alice, she nodded with a small smile on her face, then danced back out of the room.

I followed her halfway, and shut my door again, then went back to the mirror. Like I said, I knew I was beautiful, but looking at the face in the mirror, I felt like...like there was something missing. Like there should be mud, or some kind of filth smeared all over me.

You know, when you hear about how women feel dirty after...something like this happens, it sounds kinda weird, doesn't it? But...it's true. You do feel dirty. Dirty, and used, and...and...

I turned away from the mirror so fast my hair whipped me in the face. I wasn't going to think about that anymore. I slipped on a pair of shoes, and picked my light pink parka up off my desk, and shook it out.

Time for another day to begin.

**~Rosalie Lillian Hale~**

I sat in the back seat, my legs curled up on the seat next to me, as Jasper drove carefully through the streets towards Forks High. The roads were icy, and Alice yelled directions at Jasper right and left, and though he remained polite when he replied to her, I could tell his teeth were tightly clenched.

I just kept my mouth shut.

We got to school after Bella, Edward, and Emmett. They were all waiting for us, Bella sitting inside the Volvo, the door open.

I smiled as soon as I saw Emmett, and when I got out of the car, I went straight to him. He grinned at me, and took my hand in his carefully, and gave it a squeeze before letting it go again.

It felt like Emmett was my life preserver. If I hadn't had the comfort of knowing that I would see him first thing in the morning, every school day, and at lunch, and in the halls...I would've felt like I was drowning. As it was, I was just barely treading water. But...things were getting better.

"Come on, it's freezing out here! Let's get inside." Alice suggested, and led the way towards the school.

Sometimes I wish that I was a grade ahead, so that I could have classes with the others. It kinda sucked sometimes, having to deal with the time alone in a classroom full of sharks. But other times it's a blessing, having the time away from everyone else. You can only take people falling all over themselves to make sure you're okay for so long.

It's not that I don't appreciate everything that everyone does for me. It's just that...sometimes it seems like they don't realize that I'm still a sixteen year old girl...I can handle myself, under normal circumstances.

"Hello-o-o? Earth to Rosie!" Emmett said, snapping his fingers under my nose. I jumped backwards, surprised, and into...someone. I didn't know who. But, I felt the strong arms wrap around me as we fell, too strong for a girl...

I fell out of Fork's highschool. I was back in the big city, struggling and kicking and doing whatever I could as a strong man held me against his chest, a sour smelling rag held over my mouth and nose....

I heard people yelling at me, and two sets of hands grabbed me, and pulled me up off the ground, holding me back.

It wasn't until I opened my eyes that I realized that I'd been screaming, and fighting. Alice and Bella were holding me tightly, trying to soothe me. Jasper was lying on the ground, not even attempting to get up...just lying there, looking stunned.

And that's why I was forced to go to therapy.

This was one of my first assignments, to keep a journal. Write down whatever's going on in my head. Get it out, somehow. So, that's what I'm doing. And, I have to admit...it wasn't a bad idea. It helps, somehow.

I read this somewhere the other day, and I thought I'd write it down in here.

_"One good thing about music is that when it hits you, you feel no pain." _**I know it's short. But, this is an intro chapter! I'll try to make the following chapters longer. **

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**Review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**January 25th, 2009. Sunday.**

After the incident at school, things just got worse. Not only did everyone (Jazz, Ali, Bella, Edward, and Emmett) proceed to walk on eggshells around me, but now the entire school knew that I was a freak. There were plenty witnesses to the actual event, and, of course, word gets around fast.

There were always at least three people staring at me at any given time during school now, and people would turn to whisper to their friends when I walked by them in the halls, being guarded by either Alice or Bella. Not that I really needed to be protected anymore; our fellow students were careful not to get too close to me now.

But, at least I didn't have to worry about people approaching me during class. No, that never happened anymore. Like I've said, my classmates were always careful not to get within two feet of me now.

If I'm honest, none of that's really what was bothering me. I really couldn't care less if the people in this town liked me or not. Okay. So, that's not completely true....I guess I do kind of care what other people think of me. Okay! It _does_ hurt a little that I've officially been labeled a freak. Not that I really blame anyone for it. But, really...who _wants _to be like this?

Really though. That's not what was bothering me so much. What was really getting me down was Emmett. You see, Emmett's been the one who doesn't make a big deal about what happened last fall. He's the one who respects my boundaries, but doesn't act like there's anything different about me. But after he saw me flip out...things have been different with him. He's changed, he's acting like everyone else, walking on stupid eggshells around me, just like the rest of them.

"Hey, Rosie." Emmett said, sliding into the chair next to me at lunch on Tuesday. He took special care not to accidentally brush my arm. I smiled a little, then looked back down at the paper I was attempting to finish before my next class. Bella and Edward joined us at the table, then Alice and Jasper. I kept working on my paper. I really needed to get this one in on time.

After a few minutes of small talk among the table, which I half tuned out and didn't add anything to, Emmett turned to watch me. "Are you okay, Rose?" he asked after a moment, looking concerned. Of course, every other head at the table turned to look at me. I looked up and brushed my hair behind my ear.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked, wondering what I'd done to make anyone think that I wasn't alright.

Emmett shrugged. " I dunno. You seemed kinda quiet. I was just checking on you," he said casually.

I paused in my frantic writing,, halfway through a sentence, and bit the inside of my lip, feeling anger and betrayal bubbling up inside me and willing it to cool. Lashing out at anyone wouldn't help me at all. But since when did Emmett think I need to be checked up on if I didn't say anything for more than five minutes? That was the sort of thing I'd expected from Jasper, _not_ Emmett. Never from Emmett.

Without a word, I shut my notebook and shoved it, with my pen, into my bag, and got up from the table. I got several confused looks, and Emmett almost grabbed my hand, but caught himself. I gritted my teeth at that as I walked away. I didn't want him to catch himself. I wanted him to forget everything that had happened with Jasper and touch me and figure out that he _could_ touch me, to wake up and realize that I needed him to be the same person with me as he had been before. This wasn't the Emmett that I knew. This wasn't the Emmett that I wanted.

I walked out of the lunch room, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction as I passed, and let my feet take me wherever. I didn't really have a plan at this point. I was walking fast, but not fast enough. I heard the heavy footsteps behind me, but I didn't stop.

"Rosie." Emmett said softly from behind me. I spun around and stopped walking. To my frustration, angry tears were prickling my eyes, but I managed to push them away, with difficulty. I didn't like crying. At all. It was just something that I didn't do.

"Don't 'Rosie' me." I snapped.

"Would you mind telling me what's going on before you bite my head off?" Emmett snapped back, looking a little angry.

"You're acting just like them." I accused, flipping a stray piece of hair out of my face.

Emmett made a confused face. "Them? Who's 'them?'" he asked, his voice softening the slightest bit. No. I didn't want him to do that! I wanted him to keep arguing with me. I wanted to stay mad at him. He deserved it...at least that's what I thought.

However, against my will, I felt my anger start to fizzle away, even if it was going slowly. "Them." I repeated, in a softer tone this time. "Jasper. Alice. Bella, Edward, Mr. and Mrs. Brandon. My parents. Every person in this stupid school. Them." I explained, wrapping my arms around myself, attempting to hold myself together. Emmett was quiet. For a long time.

"I'm sorry." he finally said, very quietly. "I know you don't like it when people treat you like you're made of glass. Really, I do...but I'm scared, Rosie." he admitted, carefully avoiding looking me in the eye.

His confession surprised me. Emmett was this big, strong bear of a guy, who I'd never seen scared of anything before, and here he was, telling me that he _was_ scared. And then...you never really see anyone else as afraid, do you? I know I don't.

I bit my lip, not sure of what he was getting at. "Of me?" I asked quietly, looking down at my feet and kicking one of my feet against the floor.

Once again, it was quiet. Too quiet, for too long. The bell rang, and the hallway started to fill again. "I've gotta go." I said, shaking my head and walking away as the sea of students parted to let me pass. He didn't follow me this time.

~Rosalie Lillian Hale~

It was a lonely day. I went out of my way to avoid the rest of the group, and Emmett didn't even attempt to come near me again. In fact, I didn't even see him for the rest of the day. When I made my way out to the parking lot after my last class, I didn't see his car in the lot. Who knows where he'd gone.

It started snowing on the way home. I sat in the backseat, listening to my ipod and watching snowflakes melt on the window, then race each other down the window. I wasn't sure which I disliked more: Emmett treating me like a porcelain doll, or fighting with him.

Luckily, neither Alice or Jazz tried to talk to me on the way home. As soon as Jasper parked the car, I got out and went straight to my room without a glance behind me.

I changed into a pair of fuzzy PJ pants and a tee shirt, then logged into my email on my laptop, sitting in the middle of my bed. I had a new message from my manager. I almost groaned. She'd been sending me at least one email a week asking me when I thought I was going to be up to working again for the past two months. I opened it and read it, then thought for a few minutes. Maybe it really was time that I got back into my career. Maybe it would be good for me, doing a shoot, at least a small one. Maybe...

No. I couldn't think about something like this right now. Not so soon after a fight with Emmett, not when my thoughts were so jumbled up like this. When I made a decision about this, I wanted to do it with a clear head. I typed out a quick reply to my manager, telling her I would think about it and get back to her. I could just see her reaction to that. She would probably squeal and clap her hands before getting up and doing her happy dance around her office.

So, when I finished checking my emails, I got started on my homework. Fun. Not really. But I needed something to occupy my mind, and it needed to be done.

A couple hours later, there was a knock on my door. I yelled that the person could come in, and in walked Jasper.

"Hey." He said, sitting down on the foot of my bed.

"Hi." I said, no emotion in my voice as I typed.

"Do you mind telling me what happened earlier?" he asked calmly. I sighed and looked up from my laptop screen.

"Way to be subtle." I said sarcastically. Jasper snorted.

"You knew I was going to ask anyways, so why should I bother?" he said, laying back, his feet hanging of the edge of the bed and his arms crossed behind his head. "So? Are you going to tell me?" he prodded. Internally, I shook my head. He really reminded me of our dad sometimes.

"Emmett was annoying me." I said off-handedly, like it wasn't a big deal. I figured it was better to just tell Jazz the basics and get it over with.

He shot me a disbelieving look. "How? He just asked if you were okay." He pointed out. Anger flared up in my chest, and before I could push it back it had propelled me to my feet.

"Yeah. Because apparently, if I don't say anything for five minutes, something's wrong. You don't get it, none of you, and I guess you never will." I stood, looking at Jasper and shaking my head. He sat up, but didn't get up.

"Get what?" he asked. I could feel the coolness in his voice. That was one thing that annoyed me. He won't get angry, unless something huge happens. We were so different in that manner, even though we were siblings.

I'm not going to say that Jazz and I were ever really close. He's two years older than I am, and he was always wrapped up with Alice. She was always the most important girl in his life. But, it never really mattered to me. I got our parent's affection. I was the favorite, and Jasper knew it. I was doing pageants by the time I was three, and was found by a modeling agency when I was five. I'd always gotten more attention from both of our parents, and I knew that although he tried to hide it, Jasper resented me a little for it. I knew that he'd been somewhat jealous of me when we were kids. But, I know that he'd been able to push that aside and that he really did care about me.

Sometimes, I really wanted Jasper to lose his self control. I wanted him to be angry with me, I wanted him to get really, truly _mad _at me, and yell at me. I wanted him to yell at me for stealing mom and dad from him, and for being so unfair towards him for the past few months. Because I knew I was being unfair and unreasonable to him.

I took a few deep breaths, bit my lip, and went to sit back down, a couple of feet away from Jasper. It was time for me to talk to him...not just expect him to "get it."

"I hate it when you treat me like I'm made of glass." I said, attempting to imitate the cool and collected tone that Jasper was so good at. "I know that you're worried about me, and that you just want to help me and make sure that I'm okay, but it really gets on my nerves when people walk on eggshells because they don't want to do or say anything wrong when I'm around." It sounded a little lame to me, but it was the best I could do. Jasper was silent for a minute. Then he groaned and flopped back down onto his back, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "Really, I am. It's just...I don't know how to act around you anymore. I'm confused and I'm afraid I'm going to do something to hurt you. I don't want to do anything that'll remind you of what they did to you." I flinched when he brought _it _up, but it wasn't so bad. I was glad he didn't see, though.

"Well, Jazz. How about you act the same way around me as you do around Bella. I'm just another girl, no different than the rest of the girls at school, except that I'm your sister. Just remind yourself not to touch me. That's the only difference. Does that help?" I asked. Maybe we _could_ work this out...

Jasper sat up again, and nodded. "Yeah. I think I can do that. Do you want me to talk to Alice, or do you want to do it yourself?" he went on. I shrugged. I didn't really care.

"You can, if you want." I grabbed my laptop and pulled it towards me. "Do you know what dinner is?" I asked, deliberately changing the subject. Jasper took it in his stride.

"Pizza, I think." And for the next half hour...things were normal. Almost. Jasper stayed with me, helping me figure out my algebra homework, and only left when Alice came in and told us that the pizza was here.

It was dark outside by now, and it was snowing harder than it was before. I went downstairs and got a couple slices of pizza and took them back upstairs with me. I was almost finished with my homework for the night, and I wanted to hurry up and get it out of the way. I'd just finished my second slice of pizza when my phone buzzed. I opened it and saw that it was a message from Emmett. I sighed.

"_Look out side your window."_ it said. I frowned. That was a little strange. I got up and went over to my window, looking outside.

Standing there in the snow was Emmett. He must've been freezing. He was holding a teddy bear in one hand.

_What is he doing? _I wondered. I turned away from the window and threw on a jacket over my tee shirt, and slid a pair of slippers on, then jogged down stairs and to the door.

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**I feel so bad for taking over a month to update. My excuse? Life happens. I'll do my best to update a lot faster from now on. I hope I still have readers after such a long wait!!**

**Sorry for the slight cliffy...it was just the natural end of the chapter. But, I won't leave you hanging for too long.**

**Please, leave me a review! I don't care if it's longer than the actual chapter...just ramble away and hit that button. please? It'll make me write faster...**


	3. Chapter 3

**January 25th, 2009. Sunday {continued}**

I stepped out into the snow and cold, quickly shutting the front door before either could find its way into the house. Emmett was had moved a few steps closer to the house in the time it took me to get outside. I walked towards him, shivering in the slight wind.

There was a sprinkling of snow in his brown curls, and little snowflakes clung to his eyelashes. His nose was already slightly pink from the cold, like I knew mine would be if I stayed out here for another couple minutes.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, coming to a stop a couple feet away from him.

"I needed to talk to you." he said, looking down at his feet.

"What if I don't want to talk to you?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest. I meant for my words to hurt. I wanted to hurt him, just a little bit. Isn't that human nature? An eye for an eye?

Emmett looked up slowly, and his brown eyes met my blue ones. "If you don't want to see me, say the word and I'll go." he said seriously, the usual playful tone gone from his voice. I wanted look away so bad, but I didn't have the strength to break away from his gaze. Then, abruptly and with a sigh, he looked away. My shoulders slumped a little. I knew I couldn't send him away.

"I don't want you to go away." I said quietly, staring at down at my feet. I was wearing Cinderella slippers. They reminded me, like they'd done on more than one occasion before, that I really was younger than I felt. It was good to have a reminder sometimes.

"I brought this for you." Emmett said, making me look up. He was awkwardly holding out the teddy bear to me. It was a light tan color, with a patchwork heart sewed onto it's chest. It looked used. Not scruffy, or ratty, but...loved. Like it was a cherished friend.

I reached out and took the bear. It was soft. And warm too, from being held by Emmett.

Then, I took one step forward and took his hand. He jumped a tiny, almost imperceptible amount, but then he relaxed.

"Come inside and we'll talk." I said, and led him back through my footprints in the snow towards the warm house.

**~Rosalie Lillian Hale~**

I sat in the middle of my bed with a cup of hot chocolate in my hand and the bear Emmett had just given me sitting in my lap. Emmett was sitting a few feet away in my desk chair, holding a cup identical to mine.

"Thank you." I said, gently stroking the fur on the ear of my bear. Emmett smiled a little, and I couldn't help but notice that it was different from his usual one. This one seemed a little...bittersweet. I felt a little angry, not at him, but at whoever or whatever would hurt him.

Then I remembered trying to hurt him myself, intentionally. And there was no doubt that I had hurt him in some way, shape, or form in the past few months, whether I meant to or not. And knowing that I hurt him, in some strange way, hurt me too.

"I was worried you wouldn't like it. Him." he corrected himself, still smiling in that same way. I smiled, willing him to crack some stupid joke, or spill his hot chocolate on himself, or some typical Emmett thing. This serious Emmett was worrying me.

"I love him." I assured Emmett, giving the bear in my lap a little squeeze. "Does he have a name?"

Emmett nodded. "Yeah. Joey." I looked down at the bear. Joey was a good name for it. I wondered where Emmett got this little thing.

"Look, Rosie...I'm sorry." Emmett said, setting his cup down on my desk. "I know I've been acting weird lately, and I know you don't like it when people treat you like you can't take of yourself, but I'm scared. Not of you. I'm sorry I let you think that was what I meant earlier, but I didn't know how to say what I was thinking." He stopped to rub the back of his neck. I didn't speak. How could I, when I didn't know what I was going to say? I just set my cup down on the little table next to my bed and hugged Joey.

Emmett sighed softly, and went on talking. "I'm afraid of myself. I'm afraid that one day, I'm going to screw up and hurt you, or something along those lines. I'm never sure if I'm doing the right thing or not." He finished, and then took a gulp of the now lukewarm hot chocolate.

I still didn't know what to say, so I stared down at Joey, trying to process everything that Emmett had just said. I looked up when I heard him get out of the desk chair. He sat down on the edge of my bed. "You don't need to say anything." he said. "Just understand." I nodded. I did understand. He was going to try, but I would have to help him.

I figured that now was a pretty good time to change the subject.

"Whose bear was this?" I asked. Emmett smiled but his eyes were far away as he reached and rubbed Joey's nose.

"My sister's." he replied simply. I blinked.

"I didn't know you had a sister." I said, surprised. Emmett shook his head.

"I don't." He looked up, and he was back. His eyes were in present again, and so was his head. I opened my mouth to speak again, but he held up a hand. "Not tonight, Rosie. Not tonight."

**~Rosalie Lillian Hale~**

"Rose. Rose. Rose. Rose. Rose." I opened my eyes to see Alice's face a mere five inches from mine. She was cheerfully chanting my name, saying it in a different accent every time.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" I asked, my voice thick with sleep. I tried to push her off me, with no success.

"I just came in to tell you that it's a snow day today! No school! Yay!" She said, annoyingly chipper. She then clapped her hands excitedly. In my face.

"Get off me. Go away." I said. I meant to sound stern and serious, but I actually sounded more like a five year old who wants something they aren't getting. In other words, whiney.

Just as I was about to be very mean and shove our darling little pixie onto the floor, my door opened and Jasper walked in, looking just as tired as I was. Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing a shirt. Again. Not that he has a bad body, but...he's my brother! I don't particularly want to have to give attention to the fact.

Without a word, Jasper scooped Alice up and threw her over his shoulder (very carefully) then turned and walked back out of the room, with and upside down Alice waving and grinning at me.

I rolled over and went back to sleep.

A couple hours later, I was woken again. This time, it was by a deep voice bellowing out "What a Beautiful Morning" in my room. This time, shot into a sitting position to find Emmett standing in my doorway, grinning at me. He was wearing a heavy jacket and had a hat jammed on his head, covering his ears. His signing turned to laughing when I threw my pillow at him. He dodged it easily.

"Get dressed and come outside. Everyone's here. We're having a snowball fight when you get down there." he said, then left my room, shutting the door behind me. I looked out the window. The sun was shining through my window. I smiled. The sun. I'd missed it, the past few months. You don't see it too often here in Forks.

I climbed out of bed, leaving Joey tucked by my pillow, and went to stand by my window. Sure enough, Alice, Jasper, Bella and Edward were all outside. Bella and Alice were working on a snow fort on one side of the yard, and Jasper and Edward were adding to the mound of snowballs behind the walls of their own fort. I figured I'd better hurry up and get down there before they decided to start without me.

Ten minutes later, I stepped out into the snow covered front yard. A moment later...I was nailed in the stomach with a snowball. I squealed and looked around. Jasper was grinning at me.

And the war began.

I dove behind the cover of Alice and Bella's snow fort as the boys started pelting us. Bella and I began making little snowballs and then taking turns working up the courage to peek over the edge of our defenses and throw a few at the boys. Alice, on the other hand....she just kept adding to her snowball, until it was bigger than her head.

"How are you going to throw that?" I asked her, while Bella peeked over the edge of the wall that we had our backs to.

Alice grinned at me. "Who said I was going to throw it?" she said, and gave me a small wink. Bella plopped down in the snow in between me and and Alice.

"Jeez. They still have a bunch of snowballs left and Edward's making more. This isn't going well." Bella said, brushing the snow out of her hair.

"Just wait. One of you start making another one of these." Alice ordered, patting the giant snowball on the ground. "I'll be back in a minute." Then, she heaved the thing into her arms and stood up. It must've been heavy, but Alice lifted it over her head. The snowballs stopped flying at us, and me and Bella turned around and peered over the edge of the wall to see what Alice was going to do. The boys were staring at her with wide eyes.

"For Narnia!" Alice yelled, and ran at them, screaming wordlessly. Edward and Emmett instantly darted away, but Jasper remained frozen for a minute before he realized the danger he was in. He turned and ran, but Alice was catching up fast.

Emmett and Edward jumped over the walls of our fort and crouched down with me and Bella.

"I'm not going to lie. That was terrifying." Emmett said to me as we watched Alice chase Jasper across the yard. She caught up to him and tackled him, smashing her snowball over his head. I just laughed, laughed until my sides hurt for the first time in months.

I had a feeling that things were looking up.

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**Aren't y'all proud of me? It took less than a month for me to get this out. Haha...yeah. Well, I know it's short. And somewhat fluffy. Although we now have a new question...**

**And, I thought I'd let y'all know that there's a picture of Joey (the bear) on my profile. =)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. You made me smile =) But....I wanted to show everyone a piece of certain one. Here it is.**

**"Hey, since it took a while for this update.... How about you update really quickly? And we can run to Vegas and marry and you can write me stories. :D" from crazycharl. You've been mentioned because you made me laugh for two minutes. Thank you =)**

**Now. Three things for y'all to do....1. Go and check out my community. 2. Check out the picture of Joey on my profile. 3. Review. Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

_February 1st, 2009. Sunday._

"Something's bothering you." Alice announced, bursting into my room on Wednesday after school, while I was working on my geometry homework. My hand jerked and I accidentally scribbled on the page I was working on.

"Jeez, Ali! Ever heard of knocking?" I asked, slightly annoyed as I erased the scribble. She plopped down on my bed, bringing her legs up and tucking them under herself.

"Heard of it, yes. But, I prefer not to. It takes away the surprise!" she said cheerily. I rolled my eyes, then spun around to face her. "So, spill. What's up?" she prodded. How did she always know?

"Lisa wants me to do a shoot for Abercrombie. It's in Seattle, in a couple weeks." I said. Alice nodded, suddenly serious, and pursed her lips.

"And you can't decide whether you're ready to get back out there or not?" she asked me, even though I was sure she already knew that was it. I nodded, and stroked Joey's ear. He was sitting in my lap. Technically, at the age of sixteen, I was too old for stuffed animals, or security blankets, or whatever you want to call him, but when I had Joey near me, it felt like I had a little piece of Emmett with me. Speaking of the big teddy bear himself, Emmett still hadn't told me about his sister. I figured it was a sensitive subject for him, so I didn't want to push him on it, but I was really close to just asking him to tell me, I was so curious.

"Yeah. That's pretty much it...I feel like I'm ready, and I want to get back into it and everything...but then I'm afraid that if I try, something's going to go wrong, and I'll be right back at square one." I said, and looked shyly down at Joey's head.

"Sometimes, you have to jump before you can see where you're going to land. It's part of what makes life so interesting." Alice said, and slid off my bed.

"Wait!" I reached and grabbed her arm, seeing that she was about leave. "So you think I should do it?" I asked, wanting a straight answer. It could be a challenge, getting one from Alice.

"I think you should do it...if _you _want to do it." she replied. I let her go, and she skipped away.

I stared at the door that she'd just floated through and shut behind her for a long minute, thinking things over. Then I knew what I wanted to do, who else I needed to talk to. I picked up my phone and hit speed dial number two, and waited for him to pick up.

"Boo!" Emmett roared into the phone. I screamed and almost dropped it. He burst out laughing, and I swore at him.

"What the hell was that?" I half yelled, trying to keep from laughing.

"I dunno." Emmett said, still chuckling.

"I was calling to say that I was going to walk to the cafe for some coffee and ask if you wanted to meet me there, but on second thought I'll just take Joey." I said grumpily.

"What? No! No! I wanna go!" Emmett protested. I smiled to myself, standing up and slipping on my shoes.

"Fine then, get your butt moving. I'll be there in ten."

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

Emmett was waiting for me when I walked into the cafe and plopped down in the armchair across the table from him. "I beat you." he announced, and pushed a steaming cup of coffee towards me.

I took it gratefully, and without thinking, took a large swallow of it. I choked, the hot liquid burning my mouth. Emmett chuckled a little, shaking his head, then got up and walked over to the counter. I glared at his back.

He came back a minute later with a Styrofoam cup of cold water, and gave it to me. "Thanks." I said, and sipped on the water. He sat back down. "And you only beat me because you were driving." I pointed out. Em shrugged.

"It still counts." he defended. I rolled my eyes. "So am I going to find out what's been bugging you for the past few days?" he asked, stirring his coffee.

"My manager wants me to come back to work. She has this whole shoot set up and waiting for me, if I want it." I said. It wasn't like me to be so open about what was going on with me, but if I was honest with myself, I'd wanted to talk to Emmett about the whole thing....about everything.

"So what's the problem? Don't you like your work?" he asked me, his brown eyes meeting mine for a split second before he looked back down.

"Well...yeah. Yeah, I do. I did. Do." I stuttered, confusing myself. "I guess I don't know anymore." I sighed. "Emmett, before I was raped, I was one of the top teenage models in the nation." I said, leaning forward slightly. He looked up again, and I knew I had all of his attention. "Do you have any idea how fast it got out, what happened to me? I had to have a police escort of the hospital, there were so many reporters. My first time back in the game will be more of a big freakin' deal than I want it to be. I don't...I don't know if I can do it, Em." I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples to try to ease the headache that was starting. "And if I can't do it, if I freak out or...whatever, the world will be there to see me fall." I finished softly.

It was quiet for a few minutes while Emmett thought what I'd said over. I sipped on my coffee, and tucked my feet underneath myself while he did. Half me was feeling lighter, after finally saying all of this to someone other than my therapist. The half was scared of what he might be thinking now and wishing that I could snatch the words out of the air and stuff them back in my mouth. But, of course, no matter how much I wanted to do that, I couldn't.

"I have a crazy idea." Emmett announced, setting his cup down on the table. He'd been quiet for so long that I jumped.

I rose an eyebrow at him. "Good crazy or bad crazy?" I asked suspiciously. He smiled.

"Good crazy. I think. I sort of have a plan." he leaned forwards. "You trust me, right?" he asked.

"Yeah..."

"You're calmer around me?" Now I leaned forwards, interested on where this was going. "So what if I came with you? Would that make it easier?" he asked.

I chewed on my lower lip, thinking it through. If I could convince the photographer and Lisa to allow him there...it might work. "It's an idea." I said finally. "It could work." He grinned, and I had to smile then.

I wondered if this would be a good time to ask about his sister, or if I should just wait a little longer, and let him bring it up again, someday. But, I had the feeling that if I didn't bring it back up...he might never tell me. So, I took a deep breath.

"Can you tell me about your sister? What happened to her?" I asked, my voice softening a little.

Emmett stiffened noticeably, as soon as I spoke. I regretted asking, but, once again, had to face the sad truth that there's no rewind button.

His hands clenched into fists and his jaw was locked into place. I looked down at my lap, about to tell him to forget I said anything. But when I looked up again, he was breathing deeply and relaxing slowly. He stood up suddenly, and held out his hand. "Let's get out of here."

_"Five." I repeated softly, letting a few tears roll down my cheeks. _

_"Come on. Let's get out of here." Emmett said, sounding strong, and so much more serious than usual. He stood up, and I followed him out the door. _

That was the night when I told him. Was it really only a little over a month ago? It seemed like ages. He'd listened to me that night, and had been strong when I couldn't be. It was my turn to do the same for him now. So I stood, and took his hand. We walked out together this time, hand in hand.

It was starting to get dark by now, and as we walked, Emmett let go of my hand and put his arm around my shoulders instead, pulling me closer to him in the process. "Her name was Jordan." he said, heavily. I put my arm around his waist, and we fell into step. It was cold, and I was glad that he was close to me.

"Her name was Jordan, and she was two years younger than me. She had long brown hair...it was a little curly, but not really. I don't know what the word is."

Wavy?" I suggested.

He nodded. "Yeah, that's it. Wavy. And she had green eyes." He smiled. "She had this birthmark on her knee that looked like a star." I smiled too. His voice was far away, like he was only with me in body. "She loved to dance, and sing. She was good at both, too. She always wanted to be on a real stage." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Her story is kind of like yours. But only in some ways. She went missing when she was thirteen, and her body was found a week later." I inhaled sharply, and squeezed him gently, without even really meaning too. I felt tears coming to my own eyes, because I already knew what he was going to say next, and I hated it.

"The last time I saw her I'd yelled at her. She'd spilled a drink in my car, or something stupid like that. I'd been angry over something else, something that wasn't related to her at all, but I took it all out on her. That was the last memory she'd have of me, and I hate that." His voice broke, and I stopped walking, as did he. His eyes were glittering, and I threw my arms around him and hugged him as tight as I could.

"You don't understand." I whispered, on the verge of tears myself. "When you think you're going to die...you remember your favorite moments with the people you love. You remember sitting on your Daddy's lap when you were five. You remember making cookies with your grandma, and making a snowman with your grandpa. You remember the first time your mom let you curl your hair. And you remember all the times when your big brother let you play with him and his friends, and when he kissed your knee to make it better after you fell. Your remember the times that are closest to your heart." I told him, and, after a long moment, he hugged me back and rested his head on my shoulder, and I knew that I'd added another one of those moments to my heart.

_"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou_

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**I tried so hard to get this out faster! Obviously, that didn't work out so well, but anyways. Here it is! Ta da!**

**I would like y'all to know that I am taking suggestions for things want to see in this story. For example: "I would love to see a talk between Em and Jazz in the next few chapters." So, if you have any, I'd love to hear them. Keep in mind that I'm not saying that if you give me one, I will automatically use it...but I will consider it. I love hearing from my readers. So, if you have a suggestion, leave it in your review. =) **

**Now...go on and review! Do you think we could make it to....90 reviews? I think so. Have a great week!**

**I'm getting a little fed up with myself for not being able to come up with longer chapters...but, you have to write the story that wants to be written. **


	5. Chapter 5

_**February 15th, 2009. Sunday.**_

So now I knew who Joey's previous owner was. At first, I'd wanted to give him back, as much as I loved him.

_"No! I'm not taking the stupid bear back!" Emmett yelled, and tossed Joey back at me. "He was Jordan's favorite, and she wouldn't want him to just be sitting in tiny box in the darkest corner of the attic. He's yours now." _

And that had been the end of it. I loved the stupid thing way too much to push it.

Jordan became a secret kind of like what mine had been, when I first moved to Forks. Edward and Bella had been Emmett's friend since they were in elementary school, so of course they knew about her, but they learned not to mention her. It hurt Emmett too much. She was his weak spot. Jasper and Alice, having just moved her at the beginning of the school year, didn't know anything about her. The people of Forks at least had the sensitivity to let the thing fade.

Em had asked me not to tell Alice and Jazz about her. He said that he'd tell them...if he ever decided he wanted to.

And that was that.

_**~Rosalie Lillian Hale~**_

After I talked with Emmett, I called Lisa to talk with her. I'd told her that I would do the shoot...with my one condition.

It went over smoother than I thought it would, actually. Lisa was so happy to hear that I was going to do it she agreed, no problem.

So, yesterday morning, at the wonderful hour of five am, Mr. Brandon stumbled out to the door to let a sleepy Emmett in.

"Rosie." a soft, deep voice whispered, and a hand brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. "Rosie." I slowly opened my eyes, and blinked up into a pair of gorgeous brown eyes.

I liked waking up like this.

"Come on, sweetheart, we have to get going. I nodded. I wasn't going to bother getting dressed, or putting any make up on or anything. I would be made up when we got to the shoot, by the pros. No use in doing it myself.

Emmett straightened and looked around. He stepped over to my chair and picked up my parka from my chair, and my boots from by my closet.

"Put these on. It's cold out." he said, setting them down by me as I sat up. I pulled them on, half awake.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Emmett asked. I shook my head, forcing my eyes to remain open. Hugging was one thing, being carried another. I didn't think I could handle it yet. So, I scooped up Joey and the small ballet bag sitting at the foot of my bed, then stood up. Emmett followed me out of my room and stood in the doorway as I crept into Alice's room. Jasper was there too, big surprise. I gently shook Alice to wake her up.

"We're leaving now. Love you." I whispered. Alice muttered her response, then promptly went back to sleep.

Emmett and I tiptoed through the sleeping house, and out the front door. Damn, it really was cold out here. Emmett shut the door softly, and we climbed into his car. I was asleep again before we got out of Forks.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

When I woke up again, the sun was up, and the clock on Emmett's dashboard read 8:00. We still had about an hour until we got to Seattle.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Emmett sang happily. I wondered how he was so awake after being up since before five and driving for three hours, but then I saw the two cups of McDonald's coffee. Empty.

"It's too early for you to be hyper." I said, still in the stages of waking up. I sat up a little straighter, and saw that we were driving through Bremerton.

"Starbucks! There!" I yelled, and pointed, bouncing a little. I needed some Starbucks. It had been weeks since I'd had any; Forks was too small a town to have one. Emmett laughed and pulled into the parking lot. My hero.

An hour later, we pulled up at the building where the shoot was taking place. Lisa was pacing in front of it, checking her watch every three seconds. I grabbed my bag, and, after thinking about it for a minute, Joey, and stepped out of the car. Emmett followed me.

"Rosalie!" Lisa cried when she saw me. I could see that she wasn't happy about my attire: beat up boots, fuzzy PJ pants with cats on them, and my pink parka. No makeup, nothing done with my hair except my zebra headband.

"There you are, Darling! I was getting a little worried." She skittered over to me, heels clacking on the pavement, and did that stupid french air kisses thing. I smiled at her.

"Hi, Lisa. This is my friend, Emmett McCarthy. Emmett, this is Lisa, my wonderful manager." Wonderful. I use that term loosely. She's good at what she does, true. But as a person...I can barely stand her.

Cameras flashed. So there was already paparazzi here. Well, I should've expected it.

"Come, come, let's get inside. Hurry, hurry!" Why did she always say everything twice?

Emmett and I followed Lisa towards the doors. The reporters and their photographers closed in.

"Rosalie! Rosalie! Who is this man with you? Is he your new bodyguard?" one man yelled at me.

"Is it true that you had an abortion last fall?" Another one asked. I zoned out, letting their yelled questions roll off my shoulders as I made my way through the crowd to the doors. But they were pressing closer and closer, and it was starting to get harder to breathe.

"Rosalie!" "Rosalie!" "Miss Hale!"

"Let us through!" Emmett roared, finally past his limit. It suddenly went very quiet, and a few people stepped back, looking a bit scared. I felt Emmett's hands on my shoulders, and he took my bag from me and slung it on his own back. I was left holding Joey against my chest, and Emmett guided me through to the doors. A few people looked uncomfortable, and kept glancing from my face to Joey, and then somewhere over my head. It seemed like they didn't particularly like being reminded that I was still just a teenage girl.

"Come on, come on!" Lisa urged us on, holding the glass door open and ushering me and Emmett inside.

"Rosalie! Come here, doll face, it's been too long." Marietta exclaimed as we stepped out of the elevator. She pulled me into a tight hug before I'd fully registered the fact that she was there.

Marietta was my makeup and hair...person. Artist? Stylist?

"Oooo who is this?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in Emmett's direction. Emmett grinned, probably enjoying the attention.

"I'm Emmett." he introduced himself, holding out his and for Marietta to shake. "I'm Rosie's..." he glanced towards me for a split second. "friend."

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing....

"Well, you're a cutie, Emmett dear. And Rosie! What a cute little nickname!" Marietta squealed.

"Okay, ladies..." Lisa glanced up at Em. "Emmett. Rosalie, let's go over and introduce you to the photographer for the day, then we'll let Marietta get to work on you." She took me by the hand and started to lead me over to where a man was giving orders for the equipment setup. "Oh, and leave that _thing _with your little friend." she said, nodding her head towards Joey, who I was still holding tightly. I resented that comment, but I wasn't in the mood to argue, so I turned and held Joey out to Emmett.

It was time to turn Rosie Hale off. I was Rosalie Lillian Hale. I was one of the best teenage models in the country. Rosalie Hale did not carry a teddy bear around.

It was time to get into Rosalie mode.

_**~Rosalie Lillian Hale~**_

"Rosie." Emmett said, holding out my phone. I was sitting and watching Marietta in the mirror as she straightened my hair.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Your mom." Emmett said. I took the phone from him and turned it on speaker.

"Hi, Mom." I said.

"Hi sweetie. How are things so far? Are you holding up alright? I'm sorry I couldn't be there today." She said, her tone flustered and fussy.

"Things are going just fine, Mom. No need to worry. I've met the photographer and now Marietta's working on my hair. I'll be fine, and it's okay. I understand." I assured her. Marietta smiled and rolled her eyes at me in the mirror, and I grinned. Marietta was used to my mom's anxiousness.

"Are you sure, darling? Remember, just say the word and you're done. You don't have to do this."

"Yes, Mom. I know. Now I really have to go, things are about to get busy. Give Daddy a hug from me, and I'll call you tonight. Love you." I said as Marietta set the straightener down and began braiding certain strands of my hair.

"Alright. I love you too, Sweetie." And then she hung up.

A few minutes later Marietta was finished with me, and I got changed into the first of the many outfits I was going to be modeling today.

It was the start of what was going to be a long day.

_**~Rosalie Lillian Hale~**_

"So, Rosalie, how does it feel to be getting back into your career after so many months?" I was sitting in the comfy chair from Marietta's station. I was being interviewed by some woman from a gossip show. I hated interviews, but I would have to deal with it. Interviews were a part of Rosalie Hale's life.

I faked a smile. "Well, it's a little strange. It will probably take me a little while to get the hang of things again." Emmett was watching, just a few feet away, his face shadowed. I'd suggested he put on his sunglasses when the reporter's cameraman started trying to get shots of him.

"Are you planning on moving back to New York, where your parents are? I understand that you've been living in a small town just a few hours from Seattle for the past few months, with some close family friends. Is that true?" the interviewer, I think she'd said her name was Abigail, asked.

I nodded."Yes, that is true. The Brandons have been friends of my family since before I was born, and their daughter, Alice is like a sister to me." I smiled a little. Alice would squeal when she read that. "And, I haven't actually given much thought to moving, at this point. But, if I do move back, I do know that I would like to finish out my junior year of highschool first."

Abigail nodded. "Well, I hope you don't mind if I ask the question that we've all been wondering. Who is the mystery man you have with you today?" She leaned forwards a little. I glanced back at Emmett, and noticed that the cameraman was trying to get a good shot of him, once again.

Now I'd wished I'd talked to Emmett about how we were going to handle this. I didn't know how willing he was to be the subject of attention, so I didn't know what exactly I should say.

"Emmett is a close friend of mine. He agreed to come with me today for...moral support." I answered briefly, choosing my words carefully.

"Is he acting as your bodyguard?" she looked down at the papers in her lap. "I understand that the man who was your last bodyguard has been fired. Is it true that..." she looked down again. "Mr. Reed was one of the men who attacked you last fall?"

I couldn't believe she'd just asked that. Well, no. I could believe it, knowing her type. It was her job to ruthlessly nosy. But as a human being, I couldn't believe the nerve. And I know that my composure slipped, for at least a minute. I looked down at my hands that were folded in my lap, took a deep breath, and answered, "I'm not going to address that."

She nodded, and went on with the rest of her questions without missing a beat.

_**~Rosalie Lillian Hale~**_

By the end of the day, I was dying to turn Rosalie Hale off, and just be Rosie again. I wanted to get back in my PJs, go home, and watch my favorite movie.

"Thank you so much, Rosalie. It's been an honor." The photographer told me as he handed one of his cameras to an assistant. I smiled and told him the same. I changed out of the dress I'd been wearing and back into my comfy PJs.

Marietta hurried over and hugged me tightly. "It's been good seeing you again, darling! I can't wait until next time." She waved as I was led away by Lisa.

"You did wonderfully today, my dear. Wonderfully!" she said, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Thanks." I commented simply. I was tired.

"Now, I'll be in touch about the next job, alright? I'll call you, or maybe email. But I'll talk to you soon. Now go on, I know you have a long way to go. Goodbye, Chickadee!" she said cheerfully.

I hated that nickname.

Emmett was waiting a few feet away, holding Joey. He smiled when he saw me, and held out Joey as I approached. I took him gratefully, then was confused as Emmett handed me a pair of big sunglasses, a hat, and scarf, then took my hand.

"We're sneaking out the back way." he informed me, pulling on a hat himself. I nodded. That made sense.

An employee showed us the employee entrance, and we snuck around to Emmett's car. People were crowding the entrance. There were even a couple of cops there, trying to contain them. We got into the car and left.

"I say we go through a drive through for dinner." Emmett suggested. I nodded, a little shaken. I'd grown used to be just another person in a small town over the last few months.

We got Chick-fla and ate it in the car, stopped in an empty parking lot.

"I'm sorry I dragged you along today." I said to Emmett, sighing and unwrapping the scarf from around my neck.

He shrugged. "It's alright. I didn't really mind. It was kind of cool, so many people thinking I was your bodyguard." He grinned, and flexed his arm. I laughed, my mouth full of food.

"EW!" he yelled covering his eyes, making me laugh harder.

Rosie was back.

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**Ta da!! New chapter. Whoo hoo!! I had fun writing this one. Now, let me say that I have absolutely NO idea what really goes on in the modeling world. That was all made up. So, I probably screwed it up quite a bit but....oh well. **

**Now, I would like to have a moment of remembrance for the 13 who were killed in the Fort Hood shooting last week. **

**................**

**I would love it if you review =)**


	6. Chapter 6

_February 21st, 2009. Sunday. _

It's been a week since that photo shoot. When I woke up on Monday morning, one of my interviews was featured on Yahoo! Joy to the world.

Magazines, newspapers, and even the random blogger was talking about me, not too mention several celebrity gossip shows.

But that didn't bother me. I knew how to deal with it. What bothered me was that not only was _I_ in the spotlight again...but I'd dragged Emmett with me. I didn't even think about the repercussions of taking him with me. I'd been so stupid. I hadn't thought to even warn him what would happen if he was seen out in the public eye with me.

I'd worried about it all day on Sunday. I didn't see or talk to him all day. I just stayed home, worked on some homework, and wrote about Saturday in here.

I was so scared that he'd be mad at me. He had a right to be mad at me.

They, (they being the evil nosy people who work in the line of entertaining other nosy people) have been speculating that Emmett is everything from my new bodyguard, to my new boyfriend, to my brother. Not many people knew what Jasper actually looked like. He'd done a good job at keeping himself out of the public eye, along with Alice.

Of course, as they usually are, none of this is right. Emmett isn't my bodyguard, my boyfriend, or my brother. He's my best friend. But, I wasn't sure how long that would last now.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~ _

"Can I come over, after school?" Emmett asked me at school. People were staring at the both of us now, in a different way than before. It seemed like the news had finally gotten to the citizens of Forks that Rosalie Hale was in their midst.

I shut my locker door with a bang, and glared at a mousy looking freshman who was staring at me as he walked past. He jumped and scurried away, his eyes now on the floor.

"Yeah." I said to Emmett, and then we went on with our own separate school days.

A few hours later, I dropped my bag onto the floor in my room kicked my shoes off, and flopped into my chair. Emmett dropped his bag next to mine, and flopped down on the bed.

It was quiet for a long moment, and I felt like I needed to say something, like we were both waiting for the other to say...something. So I did just that.

"I'm sorry." I said quickly. Ever noticed how it's so much easier to say "_we're _sorry," than "_I'm _sorry?"

Emmett looked up, a confused look on his face. "For what?" he asked, his voice incredulous.

I just stared at him. Where had he been for last couple days? How could he not have noticed how much attention the country was giving him?

I explained myself to him, and when I was finished, he just smiled.

"I'm not mad at you." He told me. Once again, I just stared. "Why should I be? It isn't your fault."

"I shouldn't have brought you with me. It was selfish and stupid, and look where it got us." I argued, my anger flaring up at how quickly he forgave me. Things could never really get sorted out if he just let everything slide off his back like this.

"So what?! I wanted to come. You didn't make me do anything." He was getting angry, and I knew it.

"I'm just sorry for dragging you into this. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be exposed to all this crap."

Emmett got up and slammed his hands down on the chair arms, leaning in so our faces were very close together, his eyes boring into mine. I don't like to say this...but he scared me a little, in that moment.

"_I don't give a damn about that crap." _He said, making every word clear. "I care about _you. _Not what anyone else thinks or speculates or any of that."

I didn't argue.

After a minute, he reached out to brush my hair out of my eyes, and without even thinking about it, I flinched away. His hand dropped like it had just gained twenty pounds.

"Oh my God." He slowly back away a few steps. "Rosie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

I was a million miles away, remembering hot breath on my face and words first being hissed into my ear, then yelled.

I took a shaky breath, and pulled my knees up to my chest, my head in my hands, fighting push back the stupid memories. What had my therapist said? Deep breaths. Deep breaths, right.

Rosalie Lillian Hale. I'm in my room, with Emmett. No one's hurting me. No one's hurting me...

"I'm fine." I managed to say. "Just give me a minute." I continued to concentrate on simply breathing, and reminding myself where I was.

Was this normal for victims of rape? I don't know. I'm sure that flashbacks are. But for me, they're more than simple memories. They're so vivid, so real, that I forget that it's not happening. It's like I'm having a nightmare...except I'm still awake. It's probably the hardest thing. The littlest things can trigger them. I hate them.

Emmett was quiet, standing a few feet away from me. A few minutes later I slowly uncurled, and looked up at him. He was so pale, his brown eyes wide.

"God, I hate myself." I said, spinning my chair around so that my back was to him. I rested my elbows on my desk, and my head in my hands.

"Don't say that." Emmett said, and his voice was shaking. From anger? From guilt? I didn't know. But it made me even angrier.

"I can't even get into a disagreement. It's so stupid." I said, my back still to him. Emmett was still quiet, and a minute later, I felt a light, warm touch on my back.

"It's okay, Rosie."

"Don't tell me it's okay!" I yelled at him, suddenly turning. "It's not okay!" I was so angry! But not at him. Not at Emmett. At myself. I was furious with myself, for being so weak. I was Rosalie Hale!

Emmett pulled away from, obviously surprised at my reaction.

"Then what should I say?!" He yelled back at me, once the surprise of my yelling at him was out of the way. "Should I tell you that you piss me off more than anyone else in the world? Should I tell you to put on your big girl panties and get over it? What the hell do you want me to say?" his eyes were flashing, but I wasn't scared.

"Yes!" I yelled back, standing up.

Then we both turned as the door burst open, and Jasper appeared, glaring at Emmett.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded, looking from me to Emmett. Emmett was breathing hard, his eyes still over bright. I crossed my arms over my chest as Alice peeked through the open door, but didn't come in.

"We were arguing." I finally said. Jasper turned, and glared at Emmett again. I rolled my eyes.

"Get out." Jasper hissed at Emmett. Emmett shrugged.

"Bye, Rosie." He said. And I didn't stop him leaving. I just wanted to be on my own.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

It was midnight, but I was still awake. My phone rang, and I looked at the ID. It was Emmett. I hadn't talked to him since our little spat that afternoon.

"How did you know I'd still be awake?" I answered. Emmett chuckled.

"Lucky guess, I guess." He said.

"Look, Em, I'm sorry...about what happened earlier. I wasn't really mad at you. I was..."

Emmett cut me off. "You don't need to tell me. I understand."

And that was that.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

"Hey, Rose. Do you want to come over to my house after school? I'll drive you home later." Bella asked me at lunch. I was surprised. Bella and I were friendly...but we weren't really close. She was more friends with Alice and Jasper than she was with me.

"Um. Yeah, sure. That would be fun." I said, picking at my salad. Lisa had insisted that now that I was getting back into modeling again, no more cheeseburgers and fries. I had to be able to fit into those size zero dresses!

Note enthusiasm.

A few hours later I was being led into Bella's room. It was then that I realized that I had never actually been in Bella's house before. It was nice...small and cozy. Not exactly the type of place I would like to live in, but it was okay for visiting.

"Sit down anywhere." She said, as she let her bag drop to the floor. I sat down in her chair, and she took the bed.

"So, why did you want to see me alone?" I asked promptly. Bella rose an eyebrow. She was wearing her glasses today, and I had to admit that the suited her. "Bella, I'm not blind. Now what did you want to talk to me about?"

Bella sighed and smiled. "Yeah, you got me. There is something I wanted to talk about. I've never been good at hiding things, really." I glanced around her room. There pictures taped to the walls, mainly of her, Edward, and Emmett.

"So what's up?" I asked, crossing my legs and giving her my attention. She fidgeted a little nervously, brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear and picking a piece of thread off her shirt before answering.

"It's about you and Emmett." She said quickly. I leaned back in the chair. I hadn't been expecting that.

"Oh." I said.

"Rose, I don't know much about what's going on with you and Emmett. But I really think it hurts Alice and Jasper with how you never spend time with them, or open up to them. Especially Jasper." She said, sounding extremely timid, but determined. I just stared at her. I really couldn't believe that she was saying this to me.

"I don't think that's your business." I stated coldly. Bella looked like this was going the way she thought it would. She bit her lip and looked down at her hands.

"When someone is hurting my friends, it's my business." She said calmly and quietly.

I didn't know what to say to that. I opened and closed my mouth, but I couldn't find the words to say. So I stood up.

"Um. I think I'm going to go now." I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets. She stood up too.

"Okay. I'll just get my keys." She said, looking around.

"No. No, I'll just walk. I could use the exercise." I insisted. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Bella just looked at me for a minute, and I wondered if she was going to be stubborn and force me to let her give me a ride. But, she didn't, and I left.

Maybe I'd been wrong about Bella. I'd thought she was a nice girl, but too soft spoken. A push over. Someone who would just go with the flow, do anything to avoid conflict. But, I guess she's made of stronger stuff than I thought.

Who else had I misjudged?

_"Deserve it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death and judgment." -J.R.R Tolkien_**Whew. Another chapter gone by. I apologize for the wait!! I've said it once, I'll say it again. Life happens. **

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**Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!! I hope you had a good day, and your pants feel a little bit tighter. ;)**

**Now. I'm going to cut this short. Why? Because I have exciting news. Baby Steps now has a blog! . Check it out. Basically, it's my thoughts as I'm writing. I hate super long ANs, so I thought I'd start the blog for people who are actually interested in what I have to say about the chappy. **

**Now, don't forget to review!**


	7. Chapter 7

_March 1st, 2009. Sunday._

"Rosalie! I have great news. I have another shoot all lined up for you. San Francisco. Theo Stanton. Two weeks." It was Lisa, and she was excited. I could barely catch what she was saying, she was talking so fast.

"Lisa, don't you think I'm a little young to be modeling wedding dresses?" I asked.

Lisa laughed on the end. "No, no! He's coming out with a new line of formal wear. Think Prom dresses. The job is perfect for you!" She squealed. I sighed.

"Lisa, I don't know if it's such a good idea for me to do another shoot so soon. I mean, it's the middle of the school year, I have homework and stuff..."

"What has gotten into you?" Lisa asked, her tone suddenly changing from excited to annoyed. "If I had offered this to you six months ago, you would've jumped on it. This could be a big moment for you! You have to grow up sometime, you know. you can't be America's favorite _teen _forever. Getting a Theo Stanton job would help your image so much!" She sad, putting on her persuasive tone.

"What if I don't want to be an adult model, Lisa?" I asked, surprisingly calmly. There was silence from Lisa, and I was a little worried that she might've fainted.

"You...you don't want to keep doing this?" she finally asked, her voice shaking. I groaned.

"I don't know, Lisa! How am I supposed to know what I'm going to want to do in ten years?"

"Why don't you just do it, Baby? It can't hurt you..."

"Fine! I'll do it. I've gotta go. Bye." I hung up the phone and took another swig of coffee. I looked across the table at Alice, who had an eyebrow raised.

"Sorry." I told her. We were in Seattle, for a shopping trip. The first real one we'd had in months. I'd thought about what Bella said over the past week...and I kind of agreed with her, in the end. I had been spending too much time with just Emmett.

So, here we were. Bella and Edward were back in Forks, as Bella had the flu. Me, Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were in Seattle for the weekend.

"So, what's this new shoot?" Alice asked, leaning forward towards me, a curious look on her face. She was wearing paint spattered jeans, a light pink long sleeved shirt with a white (and, of course, paint splattered,) vest over it...and a paint splattered tutu.

Yes. A tutu.

Alice could pull it off. Maybe it was because of how much she reminded people of a fairy. I don't know. But, it worked for her. And that was a good thing, because we'd already spotted a few photographers trying to take pictures of us.

Alice and I were getting coffee, while Emmett and Jasper were in the sports equipment store next door. Alice had ordered them away so that me and her could have some "girl time." I think, that after being dragged into every store from Build-A-Bear to Victoria's Secret, they were glad of the chance to get away.

I sighed and took a sip of my coffee. "Theo Stanton is apparently coming out with this new line of prom dresses." I said.

"Seriously? No way!!" Alice squealed, and she actually clapped her hands together a couple of times in her excitement. I had to smile. You would think that I, being the model, would be the one who got really excited over brand names and designer purses and fashion in general. But really, it's Alice. She's the shopper out of the two of us.

"Yeah. San Francisco in two weeks." I told her, smiling a little, knowing what was coming next.

"Can I come? Oh...please?" She asked, giving me her best pout. I pretended to think about it for a minute, and she whimpered.

"No, Alice. I am going to deny you this wonderful shopping opportunity." I finally said, managing to keep a straight face as I said it. Her face crumpled, and I started laughing.

"Alice, what do you think? Would I really do that?" I asked her, still giggling. I hadn't done this in such a long time...it felt pretty good.

Alice scowled at me for another minute before allowing herself to smile. "I guess not..." she said, finally. I grinned.

"I wouldn't. You'll just have to clear it with your parents, of course. We'll probably be in San Francisco for the entire weekend." I said, on a more serious note, then took another swallow of my coffee.

"And what did you mean...you might not want to be an adult model?" Alice asked. I sighed. I'd thought she just might've missed that...of course she hadn't.

"I meant that I'm not sure what I want to do with my life yet. No more, no less." I told Alice, truthfully.

"Hey, girls." A voice said from behind us. I turned around, and almost groaned. More cameras. I stood up and grabbed Alice's hand. Just wait until Lisa heard about this...I'd never be allowed out in public with out a police escort ever again. Lovely. The man continued to take pictures of me as I pushed my way past him and his little buddies, Alice doing the shoving for me.

"Who's the midget, Rosalie?" another one of the stupid paparazzi asked me as soon as I stepped out of the shop with Alice. There were more out here, just what I needed. Wait, what did he say? Oh.

Father, help him. Save him from the wrath of the woman called midget.

Alice froze, then turned slowly towards the man who had called out to me. This had happened before. Alice could take a man the size of Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, to his knees. I started laughing as Alice stalked towards him. Stupid boy didn't even have the sense to run.

"What did you call me?" she asked, her voice icy. When the man just stared at her, she reached up and grabbed his ear, yanking his head down to her level. By now I wasn't the only one laughing.

"Uh-um-nothing, Ma'am." the man stuttered. At that moment, Emmett and Jasper emerged from the store to our right, and after taking in the scene for a moment, Emmett stalked quickly towards me and put a protective arm around me, glaring at the cameras around us. A few flashed, though most were to busy laughing at the whole "midget" situation to take any notice. Jasper, however, when he spotted Alice and the stupid guy, started roared with laughter. He pushed his way through the crowd and went to stand next to Alice, chuckling.

"Let me guess." he said, addressing the man who's ear was pinched between Alice's fingers. "You used the M word." The man nodded and winced as Alice dug her fingernails in. Jasper started rubbing Alice's shoulders to calm her down, and after a moment, she let go of the man's ear. He ran.

Emmett was staring down the rest of the paparazzi surrounding us, his arm still wrapped protectively around my waist. For his sake, I wished he would just leave it, as I was being blinded by flashes and deafened by the questions being screamed at me. Another two weeks in the celebrity spotlight for both of us, it looked like. Alice and Jasper had already made a break for Jasper's car, but Em and I were kind of...stuck. The circle around us was getting tighter and tighter around us, and I was starting to freak out. Now that Alice had taken the humor out of the situation, I was getting nervous, and I could feel myself begin to hyperventilate. Emmett looked down at me.

"Breathe, Rosie." he whispered to me. Then, without warning, he let go of me, only to take my arm again as he began pushing a path through the bodies pressed around us, and I followed him closely, my head down, trying both to hide the fact that my eyes were slightly watery and not to touch anyone.

Emmett pulled me out of the crowd and put his arm back around me, leading me towards Jasper's car where Alice and Jasper were already waiting. Emmett opened the door for me, and I clambered into the back seat, scooting to the middle. Emmett climbed in after me, slamming the door behind him. Jasper pulled away from the curb as Emmett and I pulled on our seat belts, and I could hear him swearing under his breath. He drove with his left hand only; Alice was holding his right hand, soothing him. Emmett's arm was still around my shoulder, and I was unconsciously leaning into his chest, trying to calm myself. Once we got out of Seattle, Jasper looked in the rear-view at us.

"Are y'all okay back there?" he asked, his voice sounding much calmer now, but still pretty angry. Like I said, once the humor of the whole M word thing was gone, it was not a funny subject. It was disturbing. Downright scary. I nodded and Emmett grunted. "Rose, I'm sorry but you really need to get a new security team. That was crazy. Anything could happen. I don't know what you girls would've done if we hadn't showed up. " Jasper said, and he shook his head as Alice began to protest. "Ali, I know how you are. I'm not saying that you can't take care of yourself. I know very well that you can." he rubbed his thigh, where I knew there was a scar from when he was eight and he broke one of Alice's dolls. "But that's under normal circumstances. There were over a dozen people there...if it had been different, if it had been at night, and a different kind..." he trailed off, but I understood what he was saying.

I knew he was right. But, believe it or not, a pretty strong relationship is formed between you and your bodyguard. He isn't just some big guy who looks tough to scare away the bad guys when you go out in public some where. There's a lot of trust involved in the relationship. When you're traveling, he gets the adjoining room to yours in the hotel. And no, the door isn't locked. If it is, he has the key anyways. He gets to interview the limo driver and make sure he or she isn't some physco who's going to kidnap you.

Your world can be turned upside down if you put your trust in the wrong person. I should know. And I wasn't sure if I was ready to trust someone so completely yet, after how badly wrong it had gone last time.

Emmett was quiet for the whole four hour drive. I wanted to ask what he was thinking about, but I didn't think he would tell me. At least, not with Jasper and Ali around. Really, we were all pretty quiet. I felt bad for ruining Alice's shopping trip, and I was a little angry with Jasper for bringing up the whole body guard issue. Jasper was angry because he was my older protective brother and he obviously didn't like it when I was swarmed by a mob of greasy men who all wanted pictures of me. Alice was quiet because she was probably a bit disappointed that we couldn't have shopped any longer, and because she wanted Jasper to calm down. Emmett had to be thinking, but who knew what about.

I always ruin everything.

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**Dear Fanfiction. Please do not screw up my line. When editting, it was above this sentence. Please make everything stay where I put it. Thank you. Sincerely, Dani.**

**Late again...and short to boot. I apologize...but, Merry Christmas!!! It's Christmas day, and I'm taking the time to bring you this update. **

**The real AN is on my blog. www. babystepsinsider. take out the spaces. If you have any problems getting to it, or with it, or anything period, PM me. **

**Okay, okay...Check out my awesome community. If you are a Harry Potter fan, and like to RP, then check out my forum. Be sure to review and to check out my blog. Okay. That's it. Merry Christmas! **


	8. Chapter 8

_March 14th, 2009. Saturday._

Why was everything so fuzzy? Whoa...my head felt light. Like it was stuffed with cotton balls. I tried rubbing my eyes to make the fuzziness go away, but there was just one problem.

There was a chain on my hand, and I couldn't get it to my eyes. Oh well. I sure wasn't woozy anymore. I was wide awake and scared. My vision clearing, I lifted my head to try to figure out what the hell was going on and had just enough time to glimpse the door a few feet away from me and figure out that I was chained to a bed. The doorknob turned and a man walked inside. He leered at me before yelling over his shoulder.

"She's awake! Dibs on the first round!" then he turned and shut the door, locking it. My heart was torn between shooting into my throat and dropping into my stomach. The first from pure terror, realization of just what was about to happen, and the second because I knew that there wasn't anything I could do about. I was a teenage girl and this was a fully grown, well muscled man. Add the hand cuffs and my continued weakness and I didn't stand a chance. But, I tried anyways. I fought to get my hands free, glancing up at them and seeing that they were handcuffed to the wrought iron headboard of this stupid bed. The man grinned at me, not a friendly grin...one that assured me that I was right about what was going on, then advanced towards me, unbuckling his belt as he walked.

That's when I started screaming.

_"Damn it, Rosalie! Wake up!" _

My eyes flew open at the roar. I was screaming, screaming as if my life depended on it. But it was just a dream. Just a dream. Only a dream.

My lamp was lit. There was a dim light in the room and I could feel that there were people with me. My breathing was shaky as I sat up and looked around, my heart still beating fast.

Jasper. Alice. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon. They were all here, in my room, staring at me. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon stood in the doorway, looking concerned, but Alice and Jasper were sitting on my bed with me. Alice was biting her lip and staring at me, wide eyed, and Jasper was breathing just as heavily as I was, his eyes glistening.

"You wouldn't wake up." Alice whispered, her voice terrified. "You wouldn't wake up and you were screaming and kicking and we didn't know what to do." she whispered.

"Is there anything you need, Rose darling?" Mrs. Brandon asked in a hushed voice. "Some water, maybe? Do you want me to call your therapist? She said we should feel free to call if we needed her." I took a few more breaths, trying to calm myself, then shook my head. She looked at me for another minute more, then nodded and ushered her husband out of the room with her and a moment later I heard their footsteps on the stairs.

When they'd gone, I looked between Jasper and Alice, then brought my knees up to my chest and buried my face in them.

"I'm sorry." I told them. "I'll be okay. You two can go back to bed. I'm sorry for waking you up. It was just a bad dream." I secretly hoped that at least one of them would stay. I didn't want to be alone.

"You go on, Ali. I'll stay here for a while." Jasper said. I felt my bed rise a little as Alice got up. I looked up from my knees as I felt two small arms wrap around me.

"Don't be sorry, Rose. There's nothing to be sorry about. I love you." Alice whispered, and kissed my temple before floating out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her.

"Joey fell off the bed." Jasper said quietly, handing me the bear. I took him and held him close to my chest, breathing in the smell of Emmett's cologne on his soft fur. It helped me calm down a little. "It was about that night, wasn't it?" Jasper asked, his voice still soft and gentle. I nodded, smoothing down the fur around Joey's ear and not looking at Jasper.

"I'm so sorry, Rose." Jasper told me, his voice even quieter now. I looked up, surprised.

"It isn't your fault. You didn't do it. You had nothing to do with it." I told him, a little angry now. "Why did people keep apologizing to me? Apologize to me if you accidentally slam my finger in the car door, or lose something I loaned you. Don't apologize for things beyond your power."

Jasper looked at me, holding my eyes with his. I was horrified to see that his were brimming with tears. Jasper didn't cry. He was my big brother. I hadn't seen him cry since he was eight and we had to bury his pet lizard in the backyard. "You don't understand." he said, his voice cracking like he was going through puberty for a second time. I had an insane urge to laugh, despite the seriousness of the moment. "You just don't understand, Rose." He took a deep, shaky breath, and looked down at his hands, which were clenched into fists in his lap.

"You were _always_ the favorite child, Rose. Mom and Dad have always loved you more than me. You were the princess from the day you were born. You had to be taken to dance lessons, to photo shoots, to commercial auditions, to those stupid pageants. You were more important than me then and you still are. Did you know that I haven't heard from either mom or dad since I got the news that you were coming here?"

No, I hadn't known that. But, I didn't try to deny what he was saying. I knew it was true, every word.

"I got expensive presents. I got anything I wanted and so much that I didn't. You know why? Mom and Dad felt bad about giving you all their time, all their affection. But only because they knew that it made them look like bad parents. You're not supposed to play favorites as a parent." He wasn't crying anymore. He was angry, lost in memories just as much as I was whenever I had a panic attack.

He looked back up at me, our eyes meeting again. "I didn't want any of the crap that they gave me. I would've traded it all, _everything _to get to spend time with them. To be close to them like they were close to you. But that was when I was younger. After a few years...it was too late. I'd been so hurt that I didn't even want them to love me anymore. I hated it when y'all were home. I had all I needed. I had Alice and Mr. and Mrs. Brandon filled in for Mom and Dad."

His voice was getting softer again, the resentment slowly fading out of it. His eyes started to water again. "Rose, you don't know how many times I wished something would happen to you. That you would get caught doing something that would sway Mom and Dad away from you and back to me. I _wanted _something to happen to you. I imagined a thousand scenarios. You getting drunk. Finding drugs in your room. I even prayed that something would smack you off your damn pedestal."

This surprised me. I knew that he had to be angry about our childhood...but I never imagined just how deep it had hurt him. I knew that it wasn't fair when we were kids. Well, ever really. Even now. But I never imagined that it was this bad. And it hurt...not that he was saying these things about me. But that I knew that they were all true. I felt guilty. So guilty that I wanted to throw up.

The truth really does hurt.

"But never what actually happened, Rose. Never that. I wasn't that cruel." he told me, his voice broken again. I wanted to reach out and hold him. I hated this, I hated seeing him fall apart like this. I hated myself for being so selfish. I hated my parents for being such bad parents to my brother. I hated that I knew that if I hugged him, I would be sucked back into my nightmare world again.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I'm so, so sorry. No matter how much I resented you because of how they treated you, I love you. You're my baby sister. I always loved you, even when I said I didn't." he said, and his voice caught at the end. He dug his hands into his eyes. I watched him for a minute, on the verge of tears for a moment myself. I could only think of one thing to do. One stupid, childish thing, but it was all I could come up with.

"Jazzy." I said. He looked at me through his fingers. I hugged Joey as tightly as I could, then held him out to Jasper. "Take him. Hug him. He's passing along the hug."

Jasper stared at the bear for a long minute before taking him from my hands and squeezing him. He held onto the bear, just looking at it, and it was quiet.

"What does he do that I don't? What's the secret?" Jasper asked, his voice back to normal after a minute, still looking down at Joey. I laughed.

"Jasper, Joey's stuffed. It makes a big difference." I said, smiling, even though I was pretty sure what he really meant. I Jasper chuckled a little too, although it sounded rather forced to me.

"No, not Joey. Emmett. Why can he touch you but I can't? What's the secret to it? Why do you trust him and not me?"

I sighed, chewing on my bottom lip. I didn't have an answer ready for this question. At least, not a good one. I ran a hand through my messed up hair, trying to think. "I don't really know, Jazzy." I said lamely.

Jasper rolled his eyes, passing Joey back to me. "I don't believe that."

I hugged Joey close to me, scrabbling at thoughts, trying to find the right thread. "Yeah. I guess I sort of do know." I admitted. "He was the first person who wasn't afraid of me." I paused, trying to figure out just where this thread was going.

"I'm not afraid of you." Jasper said defensively.

"No, not afraid like that. I mean..." I searched for the right way to phrase this. "He wasn't afraid of making me afraid. Does that make sense?" I asked Jasper. He shrugged.

"Sort of. I think I get what you're saying. But that isn't the only reason."

Then it hit me. The real reason, the one that I'd known since I saw him but hadn't had the guts to admit even to myself until then. I smiled, in a sort of helpless way. "Jasper, he's my Alice." I said softly and quickly hid my face in Joey's fur, embarrassed.

"He's your Alice." Jasper repeated. I knew he understood me.

Emmett was the person who could make everything right for me with just a wave of his hand. He could calm my fears with a few simple words and he understood my silences. He made me laugh when I felt like I'd reached rock bottom, he knew when I just needed a piece of chocolate, or when a hug would be required. He could make me believe that everything would turn out okay if we were in plane spiraling towards the Earth with no hope for recovery.

He was my sun. He was my other half, my best friend. He was my Alice.

I could only hope that I was his Jasper.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

That was Wednesday night. Well, technically, very early in the morning, but anyways.

I was exhausted when we got to school the next morning. Not to mention stressed out. I mean, things were different now. I'd changed overnight. Well, no. My view of Emmett changed. He always had been my Jasper, I knew that now. But this was the first day that I was aware of how I felt about him. There's a difference.

How do you tell someone that you've just realized that they mean everything to you? It's not like I can just walk up to Emmett, give him my morning hug, and say "Oh, by the way...you're my Jasper."

I knew that it was stupid to worry. It was Emmett. If he didn't feel the same, he wouldn't let it get between us. He would laugh it off and make sure things got back to normal as soon as possible. I think.

I worried through my first two periods of the morning.

I think that it's not really that I'm afraid of rejection, although that would be a pretty big blow. I'm not really scared of him not feeling the same way as I do. I'm afraid that he does. I know, that doesn't make much sense. But...right now, we're friends. Plain and simple. I can hug him, I can deal with his arm around my shoulders, and I can deal with holding hands. But...there are still things that will freak me out, even with him. Once he touched my waist the wrong way and I flipped out on him at the park. What kind of girlfriend would I be? I don't think I could handle kisses, much less anything more than that.

Emmett deserves so much more than me. He deserves a girl who won't have a panic attack every time he does something wrong.

I pulled my hood up over my head, ignoring the glare the teacher gave me. I needed my sunshine now. But I couldn't have him.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

Friday afternoon, we (meaning Alice, Emmett, and I) flew to San Francisco. I was a little surprised at how little fuss Emmett's parents put up over him being gone with me so much. I payed for the tickets and the hotel rooms. That, or they came with the gig agreement, depending on how big it was. This was a pretty big gig. All three tickets and the two rooms we had booked were payed for by Leo Stanton's company.

Jasper had to stay in Forks this weekend, due to a Saturday detention and had given Emmett very specific directions to keep Alice and I out of trouble.

Ha.

Friday: fly in, get settled in. Saturday: photo shoot and relaxing. Sunday: shopping spree.

Yesterday, Friday (the thirteenth) we arrived in San Francisco around 6:30. I was wearing one of Emmett's baseball caps with all my hair tucked into it to try and keep people from recognizing me. We got our bags from the luggage claim, then went out the west exit of the airport and got straight into the limo that Lisa had set up for us.

At the hotel, we met Lisa in the lobby and she helped us get checked in. I was still wearing the stupid hat, but as much as it was annoying me, it was working amazingly well. People are a little stupid sometimes. Lisa's room was on the fifth floor. Alice was rooming with me and Emmett had the adjoining room to our suite up on the seventh. Everything went smoothly enough.

Tomorrow (today) was going to be harder. I could feel it.

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**Happy New Year!! Here's the first update of 2010. I hope you enjoy it. =)**

**One of my friends borught it to my attention that the link for my blog didn't show up right on the last update. I'm sorry for any confusion!! However...someone couldn've PMed me about it! Anyways, let's try this again.....**

**www. baby steps insider. blogspot. com (take out the spaces again)**

**Now, if that doesn't work and you're still interested...PM me, or let me know in your review that you are, and I'll make sure you get to the blog. Thanks! **

**~Dani**

**Ohh!! I forgot. I'm also on Twitter now. I just got started and I don't really know how much I'll be using it but, anyways. My name is DaniLynnRawr. Okay, bye. **


	9. Who wants to shoot me? Another AN

**I'm a terrible person, aren't I?**

**Yeah....I am...What can I say? The fact that it's been over a month since I gave a real update alone is bad enough, the fact that this is just an author's note is worse...and I'm sorry.**

**I've just been kind of...ehhh lately, you know? I've wanted to write so bad, but I just can't. I don't have any words! Would you like to hear my long list of excuses? Here goes.**

**1. Like I said, I have no words. I'm stuck! Some of the worst writer's block I've ever had...I can't write anything. Not just Baby Steps. **

**2. School. I'm a junior in highschool (11th grade) I'm taking the SAT here in a couple months, so I have to study for that on top of everything else, and my mom is trying to get me into dual enrollment at the community college. Which means I'd be taking a couple college classes on top of my normal stuff next semester. O.O**

**3. Really, when I've been trying hardest to get my words unstuck, it's not been on fanfiction. I'm trying to write some stuff for various contests because frankly, I need the money. **

**4. College stuff. I've been trying to figure out where I'm going to college and working on finding scholarships. Blahhh.**

**5. My friend Drew's Mimi died recently. **

**As you see, I have plenty of excuses. But, I guess I should stop explaining...and get to the point of this note, huh?**

**Baby Steps is NOT officialy on Hiatus. However...don't expect regular, frequent updates. I'm pretty sure you've figured that out by now, but still, it goes saying. I'm sorry...I've never been great at getting stuff out fast, but things are extra hectic now. I'm really sorry, but know that I haven't abandonded you.**

**Now, I'm working on chappy #9. I hope to have it up soon! Thanks for still being around, if you are. If you still support me, please, please, pleaseeee leave me a supportive comment to let me know you are! It would help me so much. Thanks guys. Love y'all.**

**~Dani**

**P.S. Oh, and I have a really bad sinus infection. Yuckyyyy!!! =(**


	10. Chapter 9

_March 16th, 2009. Monday._

Saturday morning, Lisa woke Alice and I up at 8:00. Alice got to go back to sleep. Me? I had to go down to the gym for a workout before the all important photo shoot. Lisa fussed over me in the halls, in the elevator, and as she checked me into the gym.

"You've really gained some weight, Rose. I hope you'll fit into the dresses..." she paused mid step to look me over. I was wearing a pair of Nike shorts and a tank top. Good work out clothes, but I sincerely hoped that due to the early hour, I would be the only person there. I wished I'd thought to bring a jacket.

Lisa seems to forget that I'm still just a teenage girl sometimes.

I peeked through the glass doors as Lisa chatted to the tired looking hotel employee as she slid my room card to open the doors for me. It seemed like the gym was empty for the most part, thankfully. It was a Saturday morning, after all. Most people would be sleeping in, or watching Saturday morning cartoons in their rooms or something.

"Here's your key, Rose." Lisa said, handing the card back to me. "I'm going to go get a few more minutes of sleep. Don't work yourself too hard...but I don't expect you back up until at least 9:00. Okay?" I nodded, too angry to speak. Yeah, go up and get some more sleep while I work my butt off down here so you can keep your job. Lisa looked me over once more, then patted my arm.

"Just a protein shake this morning, I think. I'll get the kind you like. See you later."

Gee. Thanks.

So, I went into the gym and looked around, trying to figure out where to start. I decided I'd go over to the mats in the corner first, and do some stretching, laying my phone and room key beside me.

Five minutes later, I figured out that I wasn't alone in the gym. There were two other people here, a woman who was probably in her upper twenties who was running on a treadmill, listening to her Ipod, and a guy who was probably eighteen or nineteen who was lifting weights.

Damn. He's looking at me. Come on buddy, just go away...you're done working out, good-bye.

I don't think he's buying it.

I got up off the mat, scooping up my phone and key, and went over to one of the stationary bikes. These were my favorites. I could close my eyes while riding them and pretend that I was one my pink, glittery bike from when I was five, riding in the street by my house with Jasper watching over me, the wind in my hair and sun on my face.

"Hey." I opened my eyes. If I had been riding a real bike, I would've just jumped the curb or crashed into a car or a mailbox or something. I was really getting into the whole pink glittery bike thing...I looked up and there was the guy who had been lifting weights a few minutes ago. He'd moved over to the bike next to mine, starting it up. Great. I nodded at him, bumping up the level on my bike, trying to send the message that I wasn't in the mood for talking.

"I'm Brett." he said with a smile. So, he was the persistent, can't take a hint type. Okay then.

"Rosalie." I said softly. At least he didn't offer his hand to shake. We rode in silence for a few minutes and I was starting to hope against hope that he wasn't going to try to be friendly anymore.

"So, where are you from?" he asked. Guess I spoke to early. Oops.

"A little town in Washington." I said, glancing over at him. He nodded.

"I'm from Arizona myself. My dad has some company conference going on here and I figured I'd come along for the ride. What are you doing here?"

"Um." I said, trying to think up a lie, fast. "I'm here with my sister. She's thinking about going to college here and she asked me to come with her to check out the campus." I said. There. Plausible enough. Brett nodded again.

"Wow, what are you pushing?" He asked after being quiet for a minute. There are some people who just can't stand to be quiet for more than thirty seconds at a time. They are among the most annoying people in the world.

I shrugged and looked down at my speed, then leaned to my left as Brett leaned over and looked. Personal space, buddy. Learn the meaning.

I slowed down, then switched the bike off, not really ready to quit, but eager to get away from this guy.

I smiled at him as I grabbed my stuff again, waved, then walked over to the treadmills, checking my phone as I went. I'd only been here for fifteen minutes. Crap.

And, to make it better, Brett followed me. I sighed as I started up the machine, then got an idea. I set the speed to a nice walk, while Brett was being painfully obvious with his attempts to impress me, already running full out. I picked up my phone.

_Sorry to wake you. I'm down in the gym and this guy won't leave me alone. Come save me, please? _

I sent it to Emmett and waited, still walking at a steady pace while Brett was sweating profusely and panting beside me. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't going to be the one to revive him when he passed out.

My screen lit up. Emmett._ No problem. I'm on my way, just hang in there. See you in a few Rosie. _

I smiled and started speeding up a little bit. He'd be here soon. No need to worry.

A few minutes later, the gym doors opened again and in walked Emmett. Brett, who had slowed down to walk by now, still wheezing, looked up.

"Look at the size of that guy. What do you want to bet he's on steroids?" Brett said to me out of the corner of his mouth. I just smiled and slowed down some. Emmett scanned the room for a minute before he spotted me. He grinned and started walking towards us.

"Hey, Rosie. Brought you some water, Sweetie." he said when he got near me. I stopped the treadmill and got off, taking the water bottle Emmett handed me, and to my surprise, Emmett bent and kissed my cheek. I think I blushed, and quickly busied myself with the water bottle. He was laying it on pretty thick..I mean, "Sweetie?" Really?

"Em, I can't get it open." I said after a minute. I pouted a little and handed it back to Emmett, chancing a glance back at Brett. He was still walking, glaring openly at Emmett.

"Oh, sorry Rosie. Lemme get that for you." Emmett said before easily twisting off the top and handing it back to me and winking playfully at me. I took a swallow. "Come and sit down for a few minutes. Watch me lift some weights." he said, flexing his biceps at me, then taking my hand and leading me towards the weights section. I sat down on a bench, sipping on the water, while Emmett started on one of the weight machines.

He was playing up our relationship, acting like he was my boyfriend instead of just my best friend. I didn't mind in the least. I wanted to be his girlfriend, remember? Even if I'd decided that it would never happen between us. He deserved better, remember? But, it was good to get a little taste of it, anyways, even just for a few minutes.

I looked around a few minutes later and spotted Brett storming out the glass doors and down the hall to the elevators.

"Thanks, Em." I said, screwing the lid back onto my water bottle. "Some people just can't take a hint."

Insert eye roll here. "Sorry about waking you up so early."

Emmett shrugged, wiping the sweat off his forehead and taking a rest from the machine he was on. "Can you toss me the water bottle?" I did and he took a few swallows. "I should've thought to bring another one..." he mused. "It's okay. I was already awake anyways. But what are you doing down here so early?"

I sighed. "I'm a model, Em. I have to stay fit and trim!" I said, putting on a fake excited face.

Emmett stared at me for a minute. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I'm not. I'm a _model_, Emmett. I have to be able to fit into all the stupid clothes I have to dress up in." I said, getting up and walking over to the bikes again, crossing my arms over my chest. Emmett followed me.

"That's so stupid. You're what, a hundred and ten pounds? You're perfect already." he said angrily as I started the bike again.

I smiled a little. He'd called me perfect. "Tell that to Lisa. And Leo Stanton." I said, staring straight ahead, my smile already fading a little.

"I will."

Now it was back. Emmett made me just want to...want to...

I stopped the bike and turned to look at Emmett. "If we got out of here and went to get doughnuts...would you tell on me?" I asked slowly, grinning.

Emmett grinned and grabbed my hand, pulling me up. "Why the hell are we still here talking about it?"

Twenty minutes later I was wearing Emmett's over shirt, unbuttoned, over my shorts and tank top as we walked into a Shipleys. I rolled up the sleeves but it was so long that I could've worn it as a dress, and it smelled just like him.

"What do you want?" Emmett asked, his eyes on the doughnuts.

"Chocolate sprinkle and chocolate milk." I answered right away. They were my favorites, but I hadn't been allowed to have them in years. Emmett nodded.

"Why don't you go sit down on that bench we saw a couple shops back? The one under the big tree." he suggested, and I did. I got a few weird looks and I'd forgotten my hat, but nobody seemed to recognize me. I guess people didn't expect to find Rosalie Hale in the middle of San Francisco sitting alone on a bench curled up in a mans shirt.

"Here we go." Emmett said, walking up and sitting down next to me. He handed me my bag, them dug into his. I pulled out a chocolate frosted doughnut (with sprinkles, as specified) and just stared at it for a minute before taking a bite so big that Lisa would've yelled at me for five minutes about.

I moaned. It was so, so good! Sugary and sweet and doughy. I took another giant bite and blushed, realizing that Emmett was watching me with an amused smile.

"I'm glad I got you two." he said before biting his own.

"Yforu dip?" I asked, hurriedly peeking into the paper bag. Emmett choked on his bite, then roared with laughter. I glared at him.

"Don't laugh at me. I haven't had doughnuts since I was ten."

Well, that shut him up.

"No way."

"Yes way." I asked, taking a swallow of my chocolate milk. "This is good too..." I mused, and drank some more.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

It was eleven. I was dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. I didn't bother with a hat or sunglasses or anything. It was sure to have been leaked that I got this job by now. What use would it be, hiding from the paparazzi that already knew who I was?

Alice was staying at the hotel. She wasn't exactly allowed on set...and Emmett was only allowed because he was going as my "bodyguard." It wasn't stretching the truth too much.

Emmett held the door of the car open for me and I climbed out.

Flashes. Nothing but flashes. Yells. People. Yelling for me. Spotlight.

A hand came down between my shoulder blades, gently nudging me forwards towards the doors. I jumped.

"Are you alright?" Emmett. Just Emmett. I looked up at him and nodded.

There were police here. Barriers, holding the people back. I was grateful. I didn't want another mob around me, like what had happened when shopping in Seattle.

A policeman stepped forwards out of the throng, about to take my arm to help Emmett in the escort in, but Emmett quickly shielded me.

"That's not a good idea. I've got her." He said in a low voice to the man. I blushed and looked down as the policeman stepped back, nodding as if he'd just remembered orders.

Great. What a wonderful way to start the day.

* * *

**Here we go, chapter nine at last! Thanks got the support, guys. It means a lot to me. There's not blog post to go with this one, sorry folks! **

**And, I'd like to announce that Baby Steps is in the running for "Best Emmett," "Best Rosalie," and "Best Emmett x Rosalie" in the 2009 Twilight Awards. you can vote here: http://forum(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/forum/CuriosityKilled_The_Cat/69076/1/0/**

**And also, another fic of mine, A Bow In Her Hair is in the running for "Best Story" "Best All Human" and "Best Alice x Jasper" it would mean a lot to me if you helped me out!! Tell your friends. Thanks y'all! **

**~Dani**

**Don't forget to leave me a review, please! **


	11. Chapter 10

_March 16th, 2009. Monday._

Lisa had been going on and on about how important this was for my career, how big of an honor to be chosen was, how this would catapult me to new levels, blah blah blah. So, by the time Lisa, Emmett and I actually got up to the floor where the shoot was taking place, I was in a pretty bad mood. Really, Lisa making such a big deal about this was making me want to completely flop this, just because she was being so annoying about it. Thankfully, I had Emmett to keep me from duct taping her to a chair or something.

But...I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised.

Leo Stanton was incredibly nice. He was probably in his thirties, and he definitely wasn't the worst looking man I'd ever met. He was surprisingly...normal, for a designer. Most of the ones I've met have been more on the strange side, wearing all sorts of ridiculous clothes and styles and stuff. One female jean designer I met had dyed her hair pink. Although, to her credit, it worked on her. But still, normal people don't dye their hair pink.

Anyways, Leo was probably one of the best designers I've ever worked with. He made it fun, joking about his dresses and making me laugh and kind of..forget that I was posing for pictures. And, I'm sure that it's going to be one of the best ads that I've ever done. Really, a smile looks so much better when it isn't faked.

And then we hit the really interesting piece of the day. Leo knew of the...special conditions surrounding me. But then, when we took a break for lunch, which Leo ended up eating with Emmett, Lisa, and I, Leo looks at me and says "It would be fantastic if we could a guy posing with you."

But how could that work? Posing with a guy would involve me touching a guy. I can't do that. It simply doesn't work!

Then, before any of us could say anything against the idea, Leo looks at Emmett and says to him: "How would you like to try your hand at modeling, Emmett?"

So all eyes focused onto Em. He chewed and swallowed his bite of burger and glanced at me. "Well...I'm not sure I'm exactly 'model material.'" To which Leo and I both rolled our eyes. I mean, look at Emmett. He is amazingly handsome. His smile makes my knees shake. His eyes...and I know that I'm not the only girl who's affected like this. Why shouldn't we give it a try?

So, after lunch, Emmett was fitted into a tux while I got my next dress on. This one was a kind of bubblegum pink-ish color, strapless with a sweetheart neckline, and a bit short, coming only to the top of my knees. Over the main material was a white lace overlay, patterned with hearts. It was cute, but I would've never chosen it to actually wear for myself. Alice maybe, but not me. The hair stylist put my hair in curls and I had these long crystal earrings on. I wasn't very comfortable, but I forgot about all of that when I stepped out of the make-up area and saw Emmett waiting for me by the back drop, which had been changed from the plain white to a blue sky with fluffy clouds. Cheesy much?

Emmett looked amazing in a tux. He was just standing there, talking to Leo, his hands in his pockets and his hair slightly messed up, probably on purpose. His tie was pink, to match my dress, but it didn't look weird on him. He smiled when he saw me.

Leo looked back to see what Emmett was looking at and smiled too.

"I wasn't so sure about how this would work on you, Rosalie, but I think it's rather nice. But, I don't think those shoes will work right." So, he had me sit down and take off the heels I had on. Then he handed me these beautiful Victorian style lace up boots. They were white and the lace pattern on them matched my dress pretty well. When I put them on they went half-way up my calf. I loved those boots!

Emmett helped me up off the block I'd been sitting on.

"Ready, you two?" Leo asked. We nodded and got in front of the backdrop, waiting for further instructions. Leo went to stand beside the photographer and tapped his chin, looking at us for a moment.

"Alright, Rosalie, if you would be so kinda as to stand facing the camera. Emmett...stand behind her and wrap your arms around her waist and act like you're whispering in her ear. Rosalie, look up at him, not at the camera." We did as we were told.

"You look amazing in that dress." Emmett whispered as the camera clicked. I smiled. I was glad he liked it.

"Perfect!" Leo exclaimed. "Now, Emmett, I want you to stand..."

And so it went. We went through seven more dresses and backdrops before we finished. I was so tired that I wanted to just lie down on the studio floor and go to sleep, but somehow managed to stay on my feet long enough to get changed back into my own clothes.

At the end of the day, Leo said that he would definitely call me if he needed a teenage model again, and he even let me keep the dress and shoes. I'm glad that he thought it went just as well as I thought it did.

"The new line will premiere in about two weeks, Rosalie. I do hope that both you and Emmett will join us here at the studio for the occasion. There is going to be a little...party." He smiled as he shook Emmett's hand. I just nodded sleepily, but he said that he would have his secretary call Lisa about it.

I was so tired that I could barely walk. It was a little after eight by now, and dark outside. I stumbled walking out of the elevator and before I could react Emmett scooped me up like I was three. I automatically wrapped my arms around his neck and was going to insist that he put me down, but I felt so comfortable...so safe. I put my head down in the crook of his neck and closed my eyes, thinking I'd just rest them for a minute...

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

I didn't wake up until Emmett set me down on my bed back at the hotel. I opened my eyes as he was slipping my shoes off.

"Oh wow. I'm sorry, Em, I didn't mean to fall asleep. Where's Ali?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and sitting up with my back against the wall.

Emmett shrugged. "It's okay. You're cute when you're asleep. That little snore of yours is so girly." he said offhandedly, his eyes twinkling with a smile. My mouth fell open, and I threw the first thing I grabbed, my pillow, and threw it him. He caught it, laughing.

"I do not snore!" I said, trying not to laugh myself.

"Yes, you do. It's adorable." and then, he imitated it! And I knew he wasn't lying because Alice had once recorded my snore when I slept over to prove it to me that I snore. I could feel my cheeks turning slightly pink and threw another pillow at him. Which he caught, again. Then he sat down on my bed. "And Alice left us a message at the desk. She met an old friend of hers and is going out with her. She should be back in a few hours."

I nodded. Alice had friends all over the place, it wasn't surprising that she'd found one to hang out with today.

"Hey, Em. Do you want to watch a movie tonight?" I asked, hoping he'd say yes. It was kind of sad to watch movies alone, after all.

"Can we order pizza?" he asked hopefully, his eyes lighting up like a little kid's. I laughed and nodded.

"I want to shower and get into some comfy clothes first. If you want to go ahead and order the pizza, though...I like cheese." Emmett nodded excitedly, looking around for a phone book.

"My room or yours?"

I shrugged. "Yours, I guess." I had gotten off the bed and started searching my bag for my black yoga pants and grey tank top. Comfy.

I showered, but wasn't very successful in getting all the gunk from the shoot out of my hair. They'd used gel, hair spray, wax...it was gross.

So, I pulled on my clothes and took a towel, comb, and my hair brush to Emmett's room. I'd work on combing everything out while we watched the movie.

"Hey. I got cheese for you. It should be about a half hour." Emmett said. He'd changed out of his jeans into plaid pajama bottoms and a plain black wife-beater. He was sitting on his bed, flicking through the movies available.

I joined him on the bed, sitting criss cross and laying out my towel in my lap, starting to work the knots out of my hair with Joey sitting on the bed next to me. Even though I had Emmett with me, I still liked to have Joey.

"Rosie! Rosie! Can we watch this one, please? Please please please please please?" Emmett begged, bouncing up and down and pointing at the TV. I looked. It was Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull or whatever.

"Yeah, I guess." I said, not too excited.

"Are you sure? We could watch something different, if you want." Emmett said, bravely trying to be nice.

Oh, wait...this has Shia Labeouf in it! "No, it's fine. I want to watch this." I said, smiling and almost as excited as Emmett was now. So, he started the movie.

And my hair was so not cooperating with me. I tugged and tugged on a knot until my eyes watered. Then, I yelled wordlessly and threw the comb at the wall, rubbing the sore spot. Emmett laughed, got up and got the comb, sat back down and patted the space in between in his legs. "Come on. Let me help you out."

I looked at him like he was crazy. "What the heck do you know about hair?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows.

"My mom was never good with hair, so I usually did Jordan's for school and stuff. Come on." I shrugged and scooted over, settling myself between Emmett's legs.

He picked up the comb and began working the knots out of my hair as the movie started. He was so gentle that he only pulled my hair a couple of times, despite how messed up my hair was. It seemed like my hair had suddenly developed nerves; I was so hyper aware of every stroke of the brush and comb and his fingers working through my hair.

This was a moment that I wanted to freeze and hold in my memory forever.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~ _

_It was dark. So dark. I was hiding, my back against a wall. I wasn't crying anymore. What use was crying now? How could it get worse? I was already in hell. _

_The last man had unlocked my hand cuffs and hadn't put them back on when he left. But the window was jammed. If I broke it, the noise would bring everyone from the next room running. And I didn't have the strength to break a window anyways. So I hid, praying that it was over. I couldn't handle anymore. Anymore, and I would break. _

_But the door opened anyways. _

_This one looked around with the light streaming in from the next room for a moment, finally spotting me in the shadows. He shut the door and it was dark again. _

_I heard his footsteps in the dark and felt his presence over me without actually seeing him. I felt him crouch down in front of me, felt his breath on my cheek as he asked:_

_"Are you afraid of me, little girl?" _

_I was. _

I woke up. Thank God, I woke up. It was still dark, but not as dark as it had been in my dream. And Emmett was next to me, fast asleep. I could just make out his face. We'd fallen asleep near the end of the movie.

But who turned the TV off?

I looked around the room and saw that the door between Emmett's room and me and Ali's room had been shut, and there was light under the door.

I smiled, knowing it had been Alice, and went back to sleep.

_~Rosalie Lillian Hale~_

"Rose. Rose. Rose. Rose!" I opened my eyes yet again. It was light this time, and Alice was leaning over me, smirking.

"What's this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I yawned. I was almost all the way awake now, and was aware of something heavy and warm on my stomach, and breath in my ear.

Emmett's arm was wrapped protectively around my waist and his head was on my shoulder. He was still asleep, his hair tousled and a peaceful look on his face.

"Um." I said, smartly. Alice sat down next to me on the edge of the bed, a serious look on her face.

"Rosalie. There comes a time in a girl's life when she begins to feel differently towards men. She might take a liking to a certain one and get involved with him. And, one thing leads to another and eventually"

"Alice."

"Eventually, she might begin to think about doing certain things with that man that she had never though of before."

"Alice."

"And this is normal. It's nothing to be afraid of."

"Alice!" I started blushing. I was no Bella, but I knew that my cheeks had the habit of getting a pink tinge when I was embarrassed.

"And while it is normal to be interested, it's important that you practice safe-"

"Alice! Shut up!" I hissed, covering my face with my hands. "We weren't having sex! We just watched a movie last night and we were tired and-"

She was laughing at me. "I know. I just wanted to make sure that you were awake for our shopping trip today." she, her usual chipper self. Then, serious again, "Although, everything that I said is true. Safe sex is happy sex!" she sang, much louder than she needed to. I groaned softly to myself as she skipped out, shutting the door behind her.

No sooner had she gone when Emmett started chuckling. "Safe sex is happy sex?" he repeated, opening his eyes but not moving.

"What the Jeff? You were awake? Why did you let me go through that?" I whined at him, rolling over and burying my face in my pillow. He repeated it again, still chuckling, and after a few minutes, I had to laugh a bit too.

* * *

**Ahhhh!!! Another chapter at last! Anyone left reading? **

**Check out the blog for more!**

**Well...review! **


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